EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 153
stickers: 232 (1-232)
starter pack: album + 1 packet (with 5 stickers) € 1.99
packets: € 1.00 (10 stickers)
blister: € 7.99 (8 packets)
tin box: € 9.99 (9 packets + 1 Jumbo sticker)
Competition is welcome! The idea that there is only one editor to publish all the main collections is never a good solution, the quality and the offer certainly pay for it. Then of course some interesting material has to be made.
In the period in which Panini leaves behind several missteps, here is Topps who comes out with a valid album, at a very low price and on an important brand like Formula 1.
How many years have we waited to get F1 album back? A long time, too much! Finally someone has thought about it and the result is good. Too bad he goes out after the maximum time, in mid-November when the championship is practically concluded. Inside the album it is reported that the compilation of the collection ended on 1 July 2020, we wonder why not to release it in mid-September. Mysteries of publishing …
All pilots are presented with the same number of stickers, which is appreciable. 10 stickers on a double page with lots of information and captions, statistics. The idea of the shaped helmet sticker is beautiful, followed by 5 stickers for the driver and 4 for the car. Images both posed and taken inside the passenger compartment and in the pits. The car stickers are rectangular, highlighting the aerodynamics.
The texts are naturally updated until the end of the 2019 championship and this is fine, too bad some imperfections that are noticeable immediately. For example, the country of birth is not always translated into Italian, in Vettel’s page we find Allemagne instead of “Germania”, in Gasly page France instead of “Francia”, etc. They are trivial errors but for this reason easily avoidable.
To complete the album, a nice quiz page and four finals dedicated to the Formula 2 championship.
The stickers are of various sizes, square and rectangular, special silver and shaped (the aforementioned helmets). The extremely positive note is the cost, compared to the packet at 1.00 euro we find 10 stickers. Record!
It is true that the stickers are very light, the comparison with Panini should not be made on the Calciatori but, for example, on Euro 2020 where with a cost of 0.80 we found only 5 stickers, the quality of the paper practically equal to this one, indeed the stickers were also smaller in size.
This is why competition is important, can you imagine a scenario where only one publisher has the whole market in hand? It’s already happening with comics, let’s hope it won’t happen with stickers.
General summary with our YES and NOT which were appreciated in the Fifa365 review
YES
. the price ratio of the packet and the number of stickers inside, an absolute record
. the quality of the paper, not yet optimal, but much better than that of the last Panini albums
. the rich pilot pages with many statistics, leaving total space for the image on the stickers (finally!)
. the variety of stickers, especially helmets and cars . the limited number of stickers to complete the album (we leave the vicious circle that monumental albums are needed to make beautiful albums)
NOT
. the total lack of F1 history
. the total lack of circuits, however understandable this year. We hope for the next!
. the total lack of the F2 car stickers and the F1 and F2 team logos
. the variety of pilot stickers per pilot, a pros but also a cons. It was possible to insert one stickers less than the cars to the advantage of those of F2.
The contract signed by Topps with F1 is multi-year, next year we hope all the good things done this year will be confirmed and maybe some of our suggestions will be listened to. Who knows, maybe the world championship will also be added ..
Give your engines breath!
(EN)